The present invention relates to mechanical devices for nursing newborn animals and, in particular, to a mechanical nursing apparatus which functions as a surrogate mother for neonatal piglets.
Infant mortality among farm animals, especially piglets is a recognized problem in the farm industry. An average of 15 to 25% of all farm raised piglets are lost before they are weaned from their mothers. Such mortality is due to a number of factors, including:
oversized litters; PA0 undersized or weak individuals unable to effectively compete for food; PA0 sows having non-functional teats or suffering from a nursing infection; PA0 cannibalistic or irresponsible sows; and PA0 piglets orphaned by a sow lost during delivery. PA0 Kloss U.S. Pat. No. 3,037,481 PA0 Grunzke U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,463 PA0 Gains U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,355 PA0 Brown et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,122,130 PA0 Travera et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,307,521 PA0 Pickelsimer U.S. Pat. No. 3,352,286 PA0 Winert U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,302 PA0 Holter U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,361 PA0 GB 2 092 867--Holman PA0 GB 2 130 108--Spencer PA0 EP 0 119 783--McAuliffe PA0 a housing for surrounding and supporting the components of the mechanical nursing apparatus, including: PA0 a refrigerated tank for holding a supply of fluid feed formula; means for periodically agitating the fluid feed formula in said tank; at least one heating tank in fluid communication with said storage tank; PA0 metering means disposed in the fluid communication path between said storage tank and said heating tank for displacing a predetermined quantity of fluid feed formula into said heating tank; PA0 means for distributing liquid feed formula to at least one nursing nipple, said means being in fluid communication with said heating tank; PA0 a valve for controlling the flow of liquid feed formula from said heating tank to said means for distributing same; PA0 protractor means for displacing said nursing nipple from a first position within said housing wherein said nipple is inaccessible for nursing, to a second position wherein said nipple extends through an opening in said housing and is available for nursing; and PA0 an electronic logic circuit for semi-automatically controlling the functioning of said nursing apparatus.
There has been a long felt need for a reliable mechanical apparatus capable of nursing neonatal piglets in a relatively unattended manner. There have been numerous inventions which relate to such an apparatus. The following United States Patents are known to disclose nursing feeders for piglets or other suckling animals:
In addition, two British and one European patent applications are known to relate to this subject matter. They include:
Known prior art nursing apparatus' have often proven unsuccessful in operation. Among the requirements for a successful nursing apparatus are:
Sanitation: Newborn animals are particularly sensitive to bacterial infection. Most bacteria thrive in a warm liquid feed formula environment. Unless a nursing apparatus is so designed that a thorough rinsing of all parts exposed to formula is performed after each nursing cycle, the apparatus is apt to become a breeding ground for bacterial cultures which can induce scours or similar infections that contribute to piglet mortality.
Proper storage and maintenance of nursing formula: In order to obviate frequent attention to a nursing apparatus, a storage container that accommodates at least a twenty-four hour supply of formula is required. This poses two potential problems, namely the separation of the formula into its lighter and heavier components and the temperature control of the stored formula. It is well known that liquid feed formula suspensions tend to separate into lighter and heavier components if allowed to stand for extended periods of time. It is also well known that unless nursing formulas are stored in a properly cooled environment, they quickly become contaminated with bacterial cultures which may give rise to the health problems as described above.
Protection of nursing nipples: In the prior art nursing apparatus' listed above, the nursing nipples are constantly available to a nursing animal unless the animal is removed from the nurse site between nursing periods. Nursing animals, especially piglets, are very aggressive with nursing nipples and are inclined to destroy nipples in a short period of time. Piglets also tend to use nipples for purposes other than nursing. For instance, young piglets quickly learn to use a nipple for showering if milk is still available once they have satisfied their hunger. This leads to a waste of expensive formula and contributes to an unsanitary environment.
Proper metering and efficient use of formula: Most prior art apparatus provide some sort of formula metering, however, the metering must either be accomplished by hand or is, at best, approximate. Unless a precise metering of formula can be ensured, an optimal growth of piglets and efficiency in the use of formula are impossible to achieve.
Environmental control and surrogate functions: Most prior art apparatus ignore the fact that, in order to raise orphaned piglets without the development of behavioral aberrations, the piglets must be fed on a regular schedule and each feeding period must be accompanied by consistent stimuli and in a clean and relatively tranquil environment. Although certain prior art nursing apparatus are equipped with timers and reproduce the grunting sounds of a nursing sow, these apparatus' suffer one or more of the disadvantages listed above.
Reliable operation in the hostile environment of a livestock barn: The atmosphere in livestock barns is known to be humid and often contains high concentrations of air borne ammonia. Such an atmosphere is quite corrosive. Prior art nursing apparatus' often fail to operate reliably in a livestock barn because they are not properly protected from corrosion, or they are too complex to operate for long periods of time when exposed to adverse environmental conditions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a nursing apparatus which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.